How Cradle to Cradle inspires towards a valuable built economy
In history several events have shown that the current economic system in modern Western societies seems to be very susceptible for unforeseen external forces. The current hard-hitting financial crisis, which was caused by a real estate bubble, proofs that certain ‘resilience’ is missing in this system. This article dives deeper into the actors of the current system, using the real estate industry as a striking example. It appears that the take-make-waste strategy, inherited from the Industrial Revolution, eventually leads to an absolute focus on financial objectives. Inspired by the natural system of Cradle to Cradle®, the article proposes a transition for the real estate market towards resilient real estate.
(…) Basically a real estate project is a building object that fulfils a demand or need for accommodation. (…) The valuation of real estate is mainly determined by the location and number of square meters of the object. The investor estimates a suitable economical lifespan and the expected income. Based on these criteria, an acceptable total investment is calculated. Other subjects, like smart design and valuable building materials, play a minor role only.
The economical lifespan is therefore much shorter than the technical lifespan. A project developer is forced to realise the completion of the building within a tight budget. As a result typical housing or office blocks are built according to standard production processes. Houses look the same and office spaces are identical. These objects are pushed into the market, without respecting unique needs of users. The question ‘why is a building being built?’ is seldom asked in this context. In this process the main objective is money, as the investor wants its return on the investment.
Due to the standardisation of building processes, the objects often remain static and incapable to adapt to their dynamic environment. This causes buildings to be depreciated over time and within a certain period the building will become useless for investors. Eventually buildings will be demolished and turned into waste. This typical life cycle of building objects obviously follows the take-make-waste strategy. Unrecognised valuable assets, like scarce materials, are eliminated tremendously.
(…) Looking at the C2C® principles in an economical context, an interesting shift occurs. Based on continuous cycles, instead of a linear one, there is no end-status anymore. Therefore this economy strives for a focus on ‘functions’ rather than ‘products’ and changes the definition of consumption and ownership. It also provides ingredients for new business models. A result is that individuals and companies ought to point out a specific place in the cycle by themselves. (…)
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